WaPo-ABC Poll: Biden Approval Up Slightly, But Deep Underwater on Economy

Americans are giving President Joe Biden a slightly better job approval rating, but dismal marks on the economy and other key issues voters will be weighing at polls in November, according to a new survey released Sunday.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll showed Biden with a 42% approval rating overall, up from a low of 37% in February — but a whopping 57% disapproval rating on his handling of the economy.

According to the survey, independents disapprove of Biden by a 21-point margin.

In a breakdown, Americans’ approval rating on major issues showed:

• 38% approve, while 57% disapprove on his handling of the economy
• 51%  approve while 43% disapprove on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic
• 42% approve while 47% disapprove on on how he has handled the war between Russia and Ukraine
• 28% approve while 68% disapprove of how he has handled on inflation
• 41% approve while 46% disapprove on his handling on creating jobs

The poll found 46% say they’d vote for the Democrat in their congressional district, with 45% saying they’d vote for a Republican — indicating Democrats will likely lose control in the lower chamber, the Washington Post reported. Republicans need a net gain of five seats to win a majority in the House.

Biden’s worst ratings come on the issue of inflation, with 68% saying they disapprove compared with 28% who approve. Just 22% of independents approve of his handling of inflation.

According to the poll, Republicans hold the edge on some of the issues that are driving the election.

• On the economy, 50% say they trust the Republican Party to do a better job, 36% trust the Democratic Party.
• On crime, 47% trust the GOP compared with 35% who trust Democrats
• On immigration, 43% trust Republicans and 40% trust Democrats. Independents are evenly split at 39%.
• On education, voters favor Democrats 47%-39%.

According to the poll, 48% identify as Democrats or leaning Democratic, which is identical to last April but up from a low of 43% in February.

The poll found 43% identify as Republicans or Republican leaners, ticking down slightly from 46% in February.

The margin of error for the random telephone poll of 1,004 adults on April 24-28 is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for overall results and among the sample of 907 registered voters.

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